Currie Cup: Sharks triumph in epic extra-time semi-final thriller against Bulls

The Bulls will be left wondering how they conspired to lose the match after twice blowing sizeable leads and having two chances to snatch victory from the kicking tee.

Meanwhile, the Sharks saw no less than three players sent off in quick succession late in the second half, but the Bulls weren't able to put them away and ultimately paid the price in extra time.

The Bulls started the match strongly with an all-out assault on the Sharks line that ended with a Johan Goosen penalty, but the Sharks soon took the lead after Emile van Heerden charged down scrumhalf Keagan Johannes' attempted clearance from the base and won the race for the ball to score the first try.

The end-to-end action continued when the Bulls scored their opening five-pointer after Johannes took full advantage of a loose ball near the try line to gather and dot down.

The Sharks had a try ruled out via TMO check for a knock-on in the build-up, with Goosen instead stretching the Bulls' lead to six via the penalty tee not long after.

Then came a peach of a try from the home side as Akker van der Merwe caught the Sharks napping with a short throw-in at the line-out to Cameron Hanekom, who showed why he is so highly rated by sprinting clear and scoring in the corner. Goosen added the extras as the Bulls took a commanding 20-7 lead.

The Sharks were far from done, however, hitting back with their second try five minutes later after No 9 Bradley Davids dove over from close range.

And it didn't take them long to bag their third as James Venter stunned the Loftus crowd with a superb solo effort that saw him beat several defenders, as the Bulls' lead was all but erased.

But the hosts would have the final say in the first half when Goosen converted from the penalty spot to make it 23-19, and they came out flying after the break to score another superb try via Stravino Jacobs to once again open up a formidable 30-19 lead.

With 48 minutes gone, however, Marcell Coetzee was sent to the bin for 10 minutes, and that was all the invitation the Sharks needed as they rode that advantage to their fourth try, Francois Venter sending a wonderfully floated ball to winger Ethan Hooker, who dotted down before Siya Masuku added the extras to make it a four-point ball game.

The Sharks smelled blood in the water and were soon over for try number five when some hard grind from their forwards got them to the line, before another great pass from Venter in the midfield saw Springbok star Andre Esterhuizen crash over. Masuku nailed a crucial conversion to make it 33-30 to the visitors with just over 15 minutes to play.

There was much more drama to come, however, as the Sharks saw no less than three players sent off the field in quick succession during a frantic 10-minute period.

Venter was the first to go, copping a straight red for a head-high dangerous tackle on Stravino Jacobs, but prop Dian Bleuler soon followed after he got a yellow for repeated infringements, and incredibly Jordan Hendrikse also joined them in the bin shortly after for a tip tackle.

It did not take the Bulls long to make their numerical advantage count as Goosen leveled the scores from the penalty spot, and with time running out, the flyhalf had a chance to win it for his side when the Bulls won another penalty following a massive scrum. He could not convert the kick, however, and it was left to two ten-minute periods of extra time to decide the contest.

The Bulls looked to have secured the win when Stravino Jacobs dove over for his second try after a wonderful linebreak from scrumhalf Bernard van der Linde, but with time running out in extra time, Springbok prop Trevor Nyakane sprinted over for the Sharks from close range before Lionel Cronje converted the try to level the scores.

There was one final bit of drama when Canan Moodie was taken out in the air near the touchline to give Goosen another chance to snatch the win at the death, but the flyhalf couldn't convert the tough kick as the Sharks escaped with a victory by virtue of having scored more tries than the Bulls.

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